Satori

By: Don Winslow

Narrated by: Holter Graham

From a #1 bestselling author, a formidable assassin is assigned his most dangerous mission yet in this “home run” of an espionage thriller (David Baldacci, New York Times bestselling author).

It is the fall of 1951, and the Korean War is raging. Twenty-six-year-old Nicholai Hel has spent the last three years in solitary confinement at the hands of the Americans. He has the skills to be the world's most fearsome assassin and now the CIA needs him. They offer him freedom, money, and a neutral passport in exchange for one small service: to go to Beijing and kill the Soviet Union's commissioner to China.

It's almost certainly a suicide mission, but Hel accepts. Now he must survive chaos, violence, suspicion, and betrayal while trying to achieve his ultimate goal of satori-the possibility of true understanding and harmony with the world.

Awesome Prequel to Shibumi

Don Winslow scores another monster hit with this book. If you enjoyed Shibumi, you WILL enjoy this as well. It made me long for a sequel to Shibumi.

If you liked Shibumi, you will like Satori

What made the experience of listening to Satori the most enjoyable?

Winslow took on an impossible assignment and pulled it off. I was so glad to back in the world Trevanian created. What impressed me the most was the performance by Holter Graham, it was outstanding. So many characters, accents and foreign languages to contend with, I'm so impressed with his work on this. It seems to me, that one of the most difficult things for a narrator to do, is to voice the opposite sex without sounding comical or artificial. Graham did such a great job on this, I forgot this was a male narrator. His talent allowed me to experience the book, without getting pulled out of it because of a bad accent or mispronunciation. Bravo.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The story was excellent, not predictable at all, in a good way. There were parts that surprised me, but the author replays the scene over in Hel's head to show where he (and us) missed things.

Which scene was your favorite?

I wouldn't want to give anything away, but near the end, I realized how drawn into the book I had become. I was experiencing the same feelings as the characters, and I wanted it to end so I could relax. Most books don't pull me in.

Any additional comments?

I hope Winslow writes another one.

Winslow shows why he is a brilliant writer

Once again, I’m blown away by Don Winslet talent as a writer he brings depth to all his characters, and this is no exception a very good story and I hope the beginning of a series of books showcasing this wonderful character

I was skeptical

I was skeptical that this book would come anywhere close to being as good as Trevanian's "Shibumi." I was pleasantly surprised. As the cliche goes, "I couldn't put it down." Great prequel. Great plots and premises, writing and enjoyable narration.

Shibumi/Satori...Bravo

I've read Shibumi Thrice, Satori has many characters, I had to reach back to Shibumi to keep up